Favorite dog friendly trips/areas

[B.Kruger]

Hello All,

To date, all of my trips in the High Sierra have been in, or crossed, regions where dogs are not allowed. But we've recently rescued an excellent pup with lots of energy, and we're so excited to plan some high country trips with him this summer. I'd be happy to receive any recommendations for routes or areas you love to bring your dog. Ours is a ~45 lb mix with a high percentage of Korean Jindo- he's long-limbed and agile and has proven to have good endurance on hikes so far.

Thanks in advance!

[maverick]

Humphrey's Basin, Sabrina Basin, Minarets, North Fork Big Pine, Emigrant Wilderness, Desolation Wilderness, Dinkey Lakes to name a very few, would be great places for dogs.

PS Also check out: https://calitrails.com/

[Wandering Daisy]

If your dog is still a puppy, be careful with paws. When my dog was 11 months old I took her into Desolation (Suzi Lake) from Glen Aulin, and it was hard on her paws. Ended up with holes in two paws. Although dogs are allowed, some trails in Desolation are really rocky and rough.

We did Sabrina Basin last fall with our dog, and it was great. She was 4 years old with much tougher paws. She even did the off-trail climb up to Fishgut Lakes, which was wonderful - a large grassy meadow around the lake.

We also did a trip in the Rock Lake area. There were tons of dogs (day-trippers). North Lake over Piute Pass worked well too.

Emigrant Wilderness is dog friendly. Pretty good trails that are not too rocky, for the most part.

Find a trail that has water sources along the way. Our dog has black fur, so easily gets over-heated. We definitely need a creek she can swim in about every few hours to cool off. Because she is a long-haired dog we avoid deep forests with a lot of pitch on the ground. Otherwise we get pitch in the tent and all over - a real mess and hard to get off her.

[dave54]

Also: pick up a book on canine first aid.

[B.Kruger]

@maverick- awesome, and thanks for the website link. Looks like it will be a helpful resource.

@Wandering Daisy- great tips! Thank you. Our boy is about 3, and we're regular desert hikers so I'm hoping his paws will fair ok, but we'll be sure to keep an eye on them.

@dave54- I hadn't thought of that yet. Thanks.

[Love the Sierra]

Hi,
Glad that you will be taking your furry friend with you! I never go without mine and we have gone in every wilderness area in the Sierras other than the national parks. I would take the dogs wherever you like to go that allows them.
I use Tough Booties sold by Mountain Ridge. http://www.mtnridge.com/BOOTIES_c_20.html They are made by a musher and they stay on! I only put them on when we are going over lots of granite or lava rocks. I make sure to take them off when we go through wet areas. Be aware, that the dogs lose traction and can slip with the booties on. This year I am going to try the tough booties with grip, (A new product) I also rub Lansinoh lanolin into their pads in the morning or evening, (before putting the booties on works well so that they will not lick it off) to keep their pads from cracking.
Most importantly, your dog needs to get into shape, just like we do. Sounds like you already are taking him out but make sure that he gets the same physical and altitude conditioning you so. Jindo's are nice dogs, you'll have a ball with him!
Our favorite places are John Muir, Ansel Adams and Emigrant Wilderness. If you live down around Ventura or LA Counties, I might be able to give you good tips where to day hike to prepare for Sierra trips.
Finally, a word of caution: Unfortunately EVERYONE says that their dog is friendly. I have had too many incidents whereby humans allowed their "friendly" dogs to harass or begin aggressive behavior towards my dogs. (I even had one BITE my son as we were passing because the lady said that the dog doesn't like other dogs!) I get off of the trail and give other dogs lots of space. Saying that, MOST people are very understanding and are polite and we pass safely. Personally, I will not closely pass by an off leash dog or one that is on a long leash. Most people do ask their dog to heal closely when passing and then all is well. Please teach your dog to pass politely and mind his own business. This is not a social dog park, we are passing on the trail.
(As an example, on a very narrow trail next to a steep drop, we were passing a man with two huskies. He had them on long leash. I saw trouble coming so I took my male off of the trail completely. My daughter squeezed herself and my female to the side and when they passed, the dogs tried to mount my female!!! They almost knocked her and my daughter off of the trail and down the steep slope before the man managed to gain some sort of control.) Sorry if I am ranting, there are no bad dogs, just negligent humans. Most are good dog owners and you want to be one of the nice ones. Also be safe and be aware of the negligent ones.

[AlmostThere]

Any designated wilderness area or national forest area will be dog friendly. Most state parks and national parks, with the exceptions noted on the park websites -- they'll allow dogs on roads and in campgrounds but not on single track trails -- do not, as you know.

Since you'll end up protecting your dog from everything, a not-comprehensive list of things that put him at risk.
Other dogs. "Friendly" dogs can be unpredictable. Mine is trained and not aggressive, and occasionally she reacts unpredictably in a new environment. I don't pretend like many do that any dog is absolutely perfectly 100% friendly.
Pack animals can break bones with a kick.
Wild animals - rodents carry ticks and fleas that carry disease. Dead rotting critters are fun to snack or roll on. Dogs not aversion trained to them can find and agitate rattlers into aggression. Golden eagles can and do predate on animals as large as small deer. I watched two eagles chasing a deer in Sequoia NP once. Coyotes, bears, and lions can be an issue.
Fish - raw trout can carry bacteria that will kill a dog in a matter of days. Be on the lookout for dead floating trout and/or fish guts that fishermen may have shallowly buried or tossed not far enough into the lake. Trout bones in the throat can also be bad....
People. There were people with guns at a lake in Dinkey - hunting is allowed even in designated wilderness - and instead of being responsible, they were target shooting too close to the lake. At the other end of the spectrum, people can ignorantly feed a dog something it shouldn't have -- my dog eats good dog food, no people food, and when she is given people food it makes her ill. One time someone gave her a beef stick before I could stop him. She threw up for a day and a half - cue a vet visit and anti-nausea meds. She doesn't generally wander off, but if she gets it in her head that she wants food and I am not snapping to it, she sneaks quietly away and says hi to the neighbors -- fortunately someone saying 'what a nice doggie' alerted me to the fact that something was up.

So yes, I let her off leash some of the time. But she's on leash more than off and tied on a long line in camp.

She also gets some dehydrated turkey burger and rice instead of kibble, when we're out overnight. Kibble is bulky anyway. We rehydrate it for her at the same time as our dinner. And filter her water, since dogs get giardia - a friend's dog had some pretty spectacular symptoms that ended up rationalizing new carpeting.... She prefers that I squirt water in her mouth with my bite valve so that's actually really easy.

[dave54]

i am also seeing freeze dried dog food in stores now.

[Big Ed]

I take my dog a lot, she loves it. We go into the Dinkey Lakes Wilderness and John Muir Wilderness, a few years ago we went from Lake Edison to Florence Lake on the John Muir Trail.

[Harlen]

IMG_0986.JPG

The eastern side is so easy! I believe that everywhere is open to dogs right up to the main divide, and above Bishop, the area from Piute Pass, and the north side of Glacier Divide is open up all the way north to the border with Yosemite- I hope this is accurate information. There may be special regs. here and there, i.e., in the Lonepine Cr. drainage below Whitney??
I wonder if it is true that all National Forest lands are open to dogs; is it that simple? We are also in the process of figuring out the dog friendly areas for our pair of dogs, one of whom may also be a Jindo mix? Several people have asked if it is a Jindo, others assume that it is a Australian cattle dog mix, as we originally thought. Regardless of the heritage, they are never happier than on a backpacking trip. They seem to do very well in the snow also, though we have so far only done short trips of 4 days or less, and few miles. We are struggling a bit with dog booty problems. Have you found a pair that work well?
Best of luck, Harlen.
p.s. by the photo, do you reckon he may be part Jindo?

IMG_0986.JPG